


An Axe to the Gentle Heart

by notherhappyending



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Asha is raised with the Starks not Theon, F/F, Femslash, Forced Relationship, Frenemies, Meddling Parents, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 22:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4496604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notherhappyending/pseuds/notherhappyending
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Catelyn decides to encourage a friendship between her refined daughter, Sansa, and her husband's unpredictable ward, Asha. Seeing the differences between the two, she decides that forcing them together might help them both learn valuable lessons. And, she thinks, <i>what is the worst thing that can happen?</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	An Axe to the Gentle Heart

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Asha is a ward at Winterfell instead of Theon.
> 
> Not entirely sure where this is going, but I have some ideas.
> 
> In this, consider Asha to be about two years older than Sansa with Arya being the same relative age to her sister.

“No, silly child.” Asha laughs. “You throw the axe like this.”

She flings the weapon toward the straw-stuffed dummy at the end of the archery range. It makes a solid thwack as it lodges itself in the centre. If it had ever been alive, it was surely dead now. Asha smiles to herself as she sees the awe on Arya’s face as she impatiently reaches for a smaller axe to try it. 

“You’re going to put nasty ideas in her head.” Sansa calls out from the edge of the range. 

“Nasty ideas like how to protect herself when the winter finally fucking comes?” Asha laughs. “I’ll take that risk.”

“Go away, Sansa.” Arya yells. 

“Arya.” Sansa pleads. “This isn’t the way that a lady should act. Come practice needlework with Jeyne and me.”

“No.” Arya replies shortly. “I wish Asha was my sister instead.”

“You don’t mean that.” Sansa’s voice cracks.

“I wouldn’t stay long enough to find out.” Asha smirks. “Unless you want to dance with flying axes.”

“I hate you.” Sansa huffs as she storms off.

“You should probably be nicer to your sister.” Asha finally says.

“Why?” Arya demands. “All she cares about is marrying a rich boy and stitching stupid flowers into fabric.”

“One day, you might not have her around to hate.”

“Good.”

Arya flings the axe toward the dummy before turning on her heels and leaving Asha to tidy the archery range. 

**\-------**

“Mother.” Sansa pleads. “Please send her away.”

“Oh, Sansa.” Catelyn sighs. “We’ve had this conversation before. Asha is your father’s ward. If he wants her here, then she stays.”

“But she’s teaching Arya unladylike things.”

“If not Asha, Arya would get one of the stable boys or her brothers to teach her those things. You know as well as I do how your sister is.”

“But Asha is a girl.” Sansa complains. “It’s a bad example.”

“Maybe.” Catelyn relents, seeing the fire in her daughter’s eyes. “But, you know that eventually Arya will have to settle down with a proper suitor and put the blades aside. Is it so bad that she enjoys her youth?”

“Blades are for men, though.” Sansa crosses her arm. “Not ladies.”

“Oh, my Sansa.” Catelyn beckons her over. “Come here.”

As she holds Sansa to her, Catelyn prays to the Seven for the lives of her daughters. Sansa is so proper and Arya is the opposite. Both have immeasurable strength in their own ways, but each of them is too headstrong for her comfort. She calms Sansa’s concerns by telling her the same story that she told Arya the night before, a fantastic tale of a woman warrior who defeats a dragon and wins the hand of the king. Sansa pressures Catelyn to tell her more about the colour of the monarch’s hair and the way he proposed to the warrior woman. Arya had asked about the length of the blade and the strike that killed the dragon. The two girls are far enough apart in age that they could never be proper friends, but Catelyn wishes that they were closer. They have traits that the other would benefit from. 

_Arya is too young, but what of Asha?_ Catelyn has little love for the Greyjoy girl, but she knows that Asha could use some lessons in acting like a lady. Sansa, on the other hand, could use a taste of youthful recklessness and independence. 

Though the idea initially seems ridiculous, Catelyn slowly finds herself growing more amenable to it with more reflection. Though it might be colossally ineffective, _what could be the harm in encouraging them to learn from each other?_


End file.
